Sympathy
by saradelovely
Summary: When dusk finally hits the space around them, she stands up and he's still holding her hand, following her way home.//iPod challenge


1. Pick a character, pairing or fandom you like.  
2. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle.  
3. Write a drabble related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterward!  
4. Do ten of these and then post them.

**Black Balloon – The Goo Goo Dolls**

_i saw the world spin beneath you,_

_and scatter like ice from the spoon. _

_you know the lies they always told you,_

_and the love you never knew._

_what's the things they never showed you_

_that swallowed the light from the sun._

Rachel comes to sit with Puck on the bleachers after Finn gives him a bloody nose, and Quinn goes to cry in the bathroom. She doesn't say anything, just grabs hold of his hand, steadying him when he tries to let go. He doesn't understand why she's here, anyway. They broke up before, broke up for other people, for their first choices. Now everything is out in the open, she could be with Finn, consoling him about his best friend's betrayal and he could be free to be with Quinn, he could have his family in the open, but they're not with them. They're sitting here on the bleachers, hands tangled in, and she rests his head on his shoulder, never saying a word. She always talks, talks and talks, but she's silent this time. He misses her speeches. She leaves him to his thoughts, and he leaves her to his, and he waits for her to stand up, stand up and leave, but hours later, as the setting sun explodes over the sky, she's still here. When dusk finally hits the space around them, she stands up and he's still holding her hand, following her way home.

**True Friend – Miley Cyrus**

_you've got a million ways to make me laugh_

_you're looking out for me, you've got my back_

_it's so good to have you around._

_talk with me now and into the night._

She becomes his best friend, easily falling into the role Finn had in his life. She becomes his closest confidante, and his safety net as everything crumbles around him. Quinn still gives the baby for adoption, and he expected it, he knew it would happen, but it still hurts him down to every bone. Later that night, he crawls into bed with Rachel, sneaking through her window when she's sleeping. She wants to ask him if he realizes what time it is but she doesn't. She gathers him into her arms, slipping off his shirt to get him more comfortable and they stay like that, through the night. She doesn't sleep, tracing his sides with her fingers, and he doesn't sleep, still thinking about the days earlier events, and how tiny her hand is in his. Somewhere in the middle of the night, their hands intertwine and he kisses her, a real kiss.

**A Clean Getaway – Maria Taylor**

_i met someone at the bar, he had a great smile_

_and a great heart, he felt just like love._

_except no fear of losing, and it wasn't tough. _

_i finally made it, i finally made a clean getaway._

_and i miss you, i miss you every single day._

He misses her when she gets what she wants, when she gets Finn. Finn spends time with Rachel, he walks her to classes and homeroom, and he holds her hand during lunch, and he lets her steal French Fries off his plate. Puck doesn't talk about the jealousy, he believes it's because he doesn't like to share, not when him and Rachel have gotten so close. He doesn't say anything when she cancels plans on him once or twice to spend time with Finn. Puck becomes more involved in his life, business and cougars, and he tries not to think how he misses her small hands. He doesn't let her see how much it affects him, not until one day she comes over and the subject of Finn comes up. She only says his name but something inside him twists, and he kisses her. He leans back away from her, nervous of her response, and she doesn't say anything, until he realizes she kissed him back. He does a half smile and his heart flip flops when she smiles back.

**Work – Jimmy Eat World**

_all the best Djs are saving their slowest song for last  
when the dance is through, it's me and you  
come on, would it really be so bad?  
The things we think might be the same  
but I won't fight for more  
it's just not me to wear on my sleeve  
count on that for sure_

The night of junior prom, Puck and Rachel have sex for the first time in their four month relationship. He would have been fine waiting longer, but she climbed on top of him in her bed, and she kissed him, and he forgot how to wait. In the dark, she whispers she's sure, and he's reassured they're doing the right thing. They missed their prom, but the next morning, she looks at him and he thinks it was worth it. They have their own memories to look back on. He cooks her breakfast, and they eat in silence, until he bursts out his three words, he loves her, and she grins at him, and they don't make it upstairs to have sex again. They have sex on the cold tiles of her kitchen floor, and he can never look at her kitchen the same again.

**Pigeons and Crumbs – Natalie Imbruglia**

_but i'm in a crowded room,_

_i'm sinking in quicksand tonight_

_you pick me up, and I shine across the sky 'till morning_

_then you color me in, guess it won't amount to much_

_seems to me i've lost my touch, i'm back in line_

He grins in every graduation picture with her, a smile covering the sadness beneath his eyes. She's leaving for New York in two weeks, early to get settled in and make her way around the city, and he's staying behind. He knew this would happen, eventually. He knew she wouldn't stay. Broadway is her natural home, she's meant to be above the bright lights and the city stars. If there are even visible stars in New York. He tries to make every moment with her count, he breathes her in longer than necessary each time. He's preparing himself for the separation, for their long distance and time apart, and in the last week, he picks fights about anything. He wants her to leave with a clean slate and not feel guilty for leaving him behind. So, he leaves her before she can leave him.

**When You're Sleeping – Natalie Imbruglia**

_the sun came up desperate, desperate_

_the stars above held you back once again_

_i saw your tears violet, violet_

_and it's been years_

_the sky's been crying for you._

The day he leaves her, they were sitting on his Ohio dock, staring at the rising sun. He doesn't say anything, he doesn't have to. His silence says it all. He doesn't drive her to the airport, he lets her leave with her dads, and he doesn't say a good-bye. He doesn't want to make this harder than it already is, and he stays behind. Their first night alone, he feels her absence everywhere, in everything he sees, everything he touches. He wonders if it will always be like this, if it will always hurt this much. He goes out that night, drinking from the bottle and waking up next to someone else. The girl is just another warm body, he's only using her to dull this empty feeling in his chest.

**Fair – Remy Zero**

_but it's all wrong, you're so strong_

_but this life's work, and choice took far too long._

_when i was sure you'd follow through,_

_my world was turned to blue._

_when you'd hide, your songs would die_

_so i'd hide yours with mine_

_and all my words were bound to fail_

_but i know you won't fail._

He picks himself from out under the bottle two months into her absence. He's going to make something out of himself, anything, and find his way back home to her. He enrolls in community college, and ignores her phone calls and text messages. He doesn't want to talk to her until he can prove he's something, anything, to her. He flies to her for Christmas break, roses in hand, and knocks on her dorm room. When he sees some guy open the door, he makes his apologies, wrong door, and he leaves, throwing the roses in the trash. He shouldn't have waited this long, he should have fought for her sooner.

**Out of My Mind – Colbie Caillat**

_and i'm so in love with you_

_i don't know what to do this time_

_and though you're out of sight,_

_you're never ever out of my mind._

She flies home for Valentine's day, anxiously fidgeting on the plane ride and missing him. They haven't spoken since she's left, it hurts knowing that he didn't try to salvage their relationship from the ashes, but she's coming home now. If he won't fight for her, she'll have to fight for him. She has to make him see that across the oceans, across the space between them, he's still the only one she wants. She prepares a whole speech for him on his doorstep but she doesn't remember saying any of it. He opens the door, and she kisses him, and their bodies maneuver their way around each other, as if their separation was a dream, a make believe tale. When she leaves for New York again, she leaves with the marks he left on her neck and she leaves with a ring.

**Like Eating Glass – Bloc Party**

_and i know you're busy too, i know you care_

_you got your finger on the pulse_

_you got your eyes everywhere_

_and it hurts all the time when you don't return my calls._

_And you haven't got the time to remember how it was_

_it's so cold in this house._

She spends spring in New York, surrounded by blooming flowers and counting the minutes until she can fly home again. Broadway's been her dream for so long but what's a dream alone? She doesn't want to stay in New York while he's so far away, she doesn't want to be here alone. Parts of her miss him everywhere, and she can't figure out how to bridge this long distance thing anymore. She takes her last final, and she flies out.

**I Look to You – Whitney Houston**

_and when my melodies are gone_

_in you, i hear a song_

Two years after she comes home, and they get their fairy tale ending. It's what they've both waited for, for so long, and now it's finally within their reach. He sees her down that aisle, and she's grinning like a maniac, and she doesn't wait for the approval to kiss the bride. She launches herself into his arms, and she kisses him like it's the first time all over again. He brushes the hair back from her face, and he blinks back tears. "Hey, Mrs. Puckerman." "Hi, Mr. Puckerman." It's perfect, just the way it's meant to be all along.


End file.
